Dallas Mavericks 103, New Orleans Hornets 127: At this rate, the last thing the Mavs have to worry about is choking like they did last year. The Hornets have absolutely owned them, and last night was no different. Chris Paul, who’s a really, really good player, isn’t as good of a player as the Mavs make him out to be. He scored 32 points and had 17 assists, making Jason Kidd look like an old man every time he tried to guard him. I bet the Mavs are wishing they had a certain Devin Harris right now. The seven points and eight assists Kidd had aren’t exactly creating a joyous feeling in Dallas.

Toronto Raptors 103, Orlando Magic 104: It was a good game, but since the Spurs/Suns game had already started, I missed the final 6:00. Why TNT wouldn’t flash over to a game that’s won on a final shot is beyond me, but such if Ted Turner’s Empire. Dwight Howard had another sick performance for Orlando, getting 29 points and grabbing 20 boards. I’m a big Chris Bosh fan — he went to Georgia Tech, after all — but he’s got to start doing something defensively against Dwight, or the Magic are going to eat them alive in this series.

Phoenix Suns 96, San Antonio Spurs 102: I watched the first half of this game, a half that seemed to feature a lot of Amare Stoudemire and a little bit of Tony Parker, but just enough Tony Parker to keep the Spurs floating. I didn’t watch the second half, but based on the box score, the Suns went a little flat. They had only 11 points in the third quarter, ultimately leading to a loss, putting them down 2-0 on the series. The Spurs’ Tony Parker finished with 32 points, and Manu Ginobli showed why he’s this year’s Sixth Man of the Year, chipping in with 29. Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with a 33 point effort.